something about you that makes me feel alive
by winninghearts
Summary: Bolin/Jinora. She stops by between university classes, but they are caught by someone unexpected.


Bolin didn't live in the attic above the arena anymore. He had a nice apartment that he lived in on his own in the neighborhood near Republic City University. The streets were lined with trees and students riding bicycles and carrying heavy textbooks. No one noticed when one of them slipped off of the pavement and into the building where Bolin lived. Almost unbelievably light on her feet, she made her way up to the third floor unseen by anyone and tapped lightly on his door.

He had her in his arms before the door was even shut behind her. She dropped her schoolbag, causing the contents to spill out on the floor. The papers inside flew through the air as he spun her around and brought her to his lips. "You're late," he murmured against her face as he removed the hat from her braided-up hair, revealing the blue arrow beneath.

"My professor kept me late again," Jinora said, slipping from his arms. She removed her coat and hung it on the rack by the door. "He can't seem to get over the fact that he has an actual, live airbender in his class. He asks more questions than I do. Aren't I supposed to be the student, here?"

"It can't be helped that you're just fascinating," Bolin said, giving her another small peck. His nose bumped the round, tortoise-shell frames she wore and Jinora giggled.

"It starts the moment I walk in the door, does it?" She grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him into a longer kiss, pulling him across the room until they were backed against the bedroom door. Her lips were soft moving over his, and it was hard for Bolin to pull back away to talk.

"How long until your next class?"

"Long enough."

He picked her up easily, holding her against his solid body and walking towards the bed. She played with his hair, running her fingers through it with arms hooked around his neck. Afternoon sun filled the bedroom with natural light through the large window. A gust of air from Jinora blew the curtains closed.

"No peeping from your nosy neighbors," she said, leaning her forehead against his and smiling.

They both just fallen onto the bed together when they heard on knock on the front door. Jinora groaned when Bolin pulled himself away from her. "Better go see who it is," she grumbled, letting her head fall into a pillow.

"It's probably Korra and Mako," Bolin said. "I asked them to come by later. A little early, I guess."

"What?" Jinora asked, sitting up quickly. "Bolin-"

"We'll have to tell them sooner or later. " Bolin checked his hair in the mirror to make sure it was neat again. There was another knock on the door. "They won't tell anyone."

Jinora gave him a look. "Mako might not, but Korra? My parents will know within a week."

"Your parents won't know anything," Bolin guaranteed. "Just stay back here for a minute. I'll ease them into the idea and then come out." He looked at her, sitting on the bed, then blushed a bit. "And maybe, you know. Button up your blouse."

Jinora's hands flew to her top as Bolin turned around and shut the door behind him. He was slightly nervous at what Korra and Mako would have to say at his new relationship, but it had just _happened_. She was studying at the University and he lived nearby. They had met up several times and just gotten along. Jinora was clever and dry and funny and undeniably beautiful. They were both adults. Bolin wasn't extremely worried about his brother, but Jinora was like a little sister to Korra. The Avatar's emotions tended to swing to extremes; hopefully she would just be happy for them.

He was ready and prepared to face them when he opened the door, but found someone he was not prepared to face at all.

"Tenzin," he said, almost able to feel the color draining from his face. "_What_ in the world are you doing here? I mean, this is unexpected. Really. How have you been? I really didn't think I would be seeing you today."

Tenzin stepped in the doorway. "I was in the area, and I needed to speak with Korra. She mentioned she was coming by here, and you know how hard it can be to get a hold of her sometimes. Is she here?"

"I'm sorry, not yet. They're coming by in a couple of hours, I'm so sorry. Sorry." Bolin swallowed heavily, still holding the door. He hoped Tenzin would take the hint and make a swift exit.

Tenzin nodded. "Tell her to come by the air temple, will you? Thank you anyway, Bolin." He started to turn, but his foot hit a heavy book. He looked back up at Bolin, questioning. "Textbooks? Are you going to school?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm considering it," Bolin lied quickly. "You know, since I'm in the neighborhood and all. Never a bad time to freshen up the old, um, noggin. You know what I mean?" He was quickly being overtaken by nervous laughter that Bolin tried his best to tone down as casual.

Tenzin started to pick up the books, and Bolin wondered if there was any way he could smack them out of his hands without arousing suspicion. Instead, he settled on just standing there nervously and hoping that Tenzin didn't-

"Ancient Spiritualities? My Jinora is taking a class on that right now. Professor Min?" Bolin just raised his eyebrows a bit, balancing on his heels and nodding as Tenzin continued to look at the titles. "The Expansion of the Chin Empire. She's also taking-" Bolin felt like he was getting a bit faint as he watched realization pass over Tenzin's face, which was getting considerably redder. "In fact, these books are _all_ related to subjects that my daughter is currently studying."

"How about that?" Bolin managed to choke out. "I guess your family is just, um, rubbing off on me."

He regretted his choice of words almost immediately.

Now he was being stared down by Tenzin, who looked ready to explode any second. The airbending master's eyes darted around the apartment, and Bolin just had one thought spinning through his mind. _Don't turn around. Don't look at the_-

Tenzin turned around, his eyes catching the coat rack and the yellow woman's coat that hung from it. He took a deep breath, then sighed.

"_Jinora_."

It wasn't a shout, but it was strong and powerful enough to certainly be heard from every square foot of the apartment. Bolin heard the bedroom door behind him creak open and the light, delicate footsteps of Jinora.

"Hey, Dad," she said nervously.

"Jinora," Tenzin said. "What on earth are you doing here in the middle of your school day?"

"I have a break between classes," she said. "We were just...hanging out?" She said the words as if she were trying them out, seeing how convincing they were. By the expression on her father's face, however, the answer was 'not very'. He began to open his mouth, but before he could speak, Jinora decided to try on another tactic.

"I'm nineteen, you know," she said, her voice rising. Tenzin's mouth snapped shut. "I'm grown and I'm in university. Mom was still a student when you started seeing her and you were almost forty. _Forty_." She had clearly thought all this out before; Bolin could tell that she was mentally crossing things off of a bullet list.

"That's not the sa-"

"What's different about it, Dad? You know Bolin. You like Bolin. Isn't it better than me going out and sneaking around with some boy you don't know a thing about?"

"I'm not going to argue with you on this, Jinora," Tenzin finally cut through. His daughter's shoulders slumped back a bit as she went quiet. He stepped closer to the both of them. Bolin took a few cautious steps back, while Jinora came forward to her father, a resigned expression on her face. Tenzin put a hand under her chin, lifting it up. He smiled softly at her, and was met with the same back.

"I'm not going to argue with you on it, because you are right," he said. "You are a very smart young woman, and I know that you make responsible decisions." He placed a kiss on her tattooed forehead. "It's sometimes hard to remember that my little girl isn't so little anymore."

Jinora threw her arms around him in a big hug, which he gladly returned. At the same time, his eyes met with Bolin's.

"I will be watching you, though," he said to the earthbender. "Now more closely than ever."

"Of course," Bolin said, as he made a bold reach for Jinora's hand. She squeezed it as she laughed in relief that the situation had passed, and pressed her face into his shoulder. "I wouldn't expect anything less."


End file.
